Standardization by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) encompasses radio access network, core network and service architectures. Release 8 of the 3GPP standards introduced so called fourth generation (4G) technology, referred to as Long Term Evolution or LTE. LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and supports significantly higher data rates than seen in previous generations of wireless communication networks.
Subsequent releases, e.g., Releases 10 and 11 have refined and extended LTE, and LTE networks with higher data throughput are being rolled out across the globe, allowing mobility while maintaining acceptable Quality of Service (QoS) for multimedia applications, such as video. LTE and other higher-bandwidth technologies, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) services within Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) networks, Wi-Fi networks, etc., provide both macro and micro (hotspot) coverage. In this regard, macro coverage generally refers to the larger service areas/cells associated with cellular networks spanning relatively broad geographic regions, while hotspots refer to localized service areas, e.g., within a building, stadium, etc. Hotspots may be public or private and may or may not be integrated with macro coverage.
The advent of higher-bandwidth wireless communication networks, also referred to as mobile communication networks, increases the range of services deliverable to end users through their various connected devices. Mobile communication networks in that regard simply represent one more mechanism for delivering content to users or subscribers and people often subscribe to multiple types of networks. For example, users commonly obtain content using so called “content delivery networks,” like cable television systems, which are increasingly IP-based and offer a range of content delivery options.
Personal Video Recorders or PVRs represent one such option and PVRs play an increasingly important role in the context of content delivery networks. A PVR, also broadly known as a “DVR” or digital video recorder, allows the affiliated user to record television shows, movies and other types of content and then view the recorded content later. In this context and elsewhere herein, the term “content” should be understood as electronic content and more typically as digital content and may include Digital Rights Management (DRM) or other ancillary or supporting data. In typical usage, the content recorded on a PVR is viewed within the local network to which the PVR is connected. Typically, the content is viewed on a television connected to the PVR, either directly or through a set top box (STB) connected to the PVR using the local network.
PVRs include or otherwise operate as a local cache, which may comprise a hard drive and associated processing circuitry, to save and playback cached content and PVRs generally provide some type of user interface for content browsing, management, and overall PVR control. Some PVRs permit remote access via broadband IP connections, but such approaches are not well suited to the delivery of user-specific content via mobile communication networks at consistently high QoS levels.